The three Iota schools in the community will be closed on Thursday, January 23, out of an abundance of caution, according to Acadia Parish School Board Superintendent Scott Richard.
The closure comes after a bomb threat was called into Iota High School Tuesday night. Law enforcement swept the school and gave the all clear around midnight.
Iota Elementary, Iota Middle, and Iota High School will be closed to allow law enforcement to "more thoroughly investigate social media threats made towards the overall safety of the schools in the Iota community."
APSO says they will keep parents and students posted of further developments and hope to be back in session on Friday.
St. Francis School in Iota will not have class on Thursday, according to the school's Facebook group. In a post made by the school's Development Director, the school will be closed "as a precaution" due to area threats.
All other schools in Acadia Parish are open on Thursday.
Richard added, "We appreciate the cooperation of law enforcement, parents, students and staff as we work to resolve this matter in Iota."
Richard said students who were absent on Wednesday will not be penalized.
The Iota Police Department also released a statement Wednesday afternoon regarding the threats.
Iota PD are currently involved in a joint investigation with APSO and Louisiana State Police.
One photo that was shared was of a firearm; Chief Damon Daigle said that this was a stock photo downloaded from the internet, intended to cause panic.
The Iota Police Department has been made aware of new threats relayed via social media, and are currently involved in a joint investigation with The Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office and the Louisiana State Police. In cooperation with the Acadia Parish School Board, a decision was made to close all Iota Schools for tomorrow, January 23rd.
Among the threatening communications, a photograph of a firearm was posted. Chief Daigle assures the public that this was in fact a stock photo downloaded from the internet, for the intent of causing mass panic.
We will continue to investigate the matter, until we are able to hold the involved parties responsible.
